Centru Alcide De Gasperi wishes the Egyptian people a peaceful transition to real democracy and true reforms. It also hopes that such development also take place in Tunisia. Centru Alcide De Gasperi hopes that free and fair elections will take place in the near future in both countries and in the rest of the Arab countries.

As United States President Abraham Lincoln said: “Democracy is the government of the people, by the people, for the people”. Real change can only come through a democracy that comes from popular will rather than being a foreign export. Thus, for a democracy to function well, apart from the indispensable free and fair elections, a democratic spirit should be fostered among citizens. It is for this reason that Centru Alcide De Gasperi hopes that this democratic transition does not descend into fundamentalism that will contradict the notion of freedom that is resultant from the same democracy.

Centru Alcide De Gasperi believes that the European Union has a duty to assist Egypt in this transition to democracy. Such assistance should not be neo-colonial but true aid motivated by genuine solidarity. Centru Alcide De Gasperi also hopes that the developments will lead to better relationships and more concrete co-operations in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

Andrea Pace

Centru Alcide De Gasperi